HB Neighbors

The quote above comes from the City’s opposition brief, page 28.  Their claim is completely incredible.  The City Environmental Impact Report’s Noise Assessment was conducted  midday and midweek, in December, quite possibly at the quietest time of the entire year in Downtown.  Moreover, not a single noise monitor was located on the first three blocks of Main Street, nearest to the beach, which is the busiest and noisiest part of Downtown.

Can a midday noise study in midweek December, and excluding the first three blocks of Main, provide a representative sample for Downtown’s noise levels throughout the week and throughout the year?  Is this study at all credible?  You be the Judge.

The City asserts (page 32 of its opposition brief) that all additional Police personnel, needed to support development permitted by the New Downtown Plan, “‘can be absorbed within existing staffing levels.’”

Downtown’s current number of alcohol-serving establishments is approaching forty, an over-saturation of bars.  The Existing Downtown Plan allowed for these 140,000 square feet of restaurants and bars.  When combined with Pacific City, the New Downtown Plan will permit an additional 140,000+ square feet of new restaurants and bars, an absolute doubling of space for these potentially problematic uses.  Thus, we could see two times as many bars as we have today, a future number in the range of eighty total.

Will Police staffing remain adequate in our Downtown, with the plans for doubling the number of bars?  You be the Judge.

The City claims (Page 4 & 5 of the respondents’ trial brief) that the village concept was flawed because “Nothing’s gone on in nearly …. half a century.”  This false claim is ridiculous.  The following 13 major projects have been completed in the last 30 years:  the Hyatt, the Strand, the Hilton, Pierside Pavilion, Pier Colony, Jack’s, the Promenade, Townsquare, Huntington Bayshore, Villas Del Mar, Dukes, the new Pier, and Plaza Almeria.  In addition, all entitlements were granted for the million-square-foot Pacific City and the million-square-foot new Downtown Plan, which we are challenging in our lawsuit. Has the old “village concept” put a halt to development in the Downtown over the last 50 years?

The last Downtown Plan, based on the village concept, was adopted in 1995.  With amendments, this Plan allowed for 715,000 SF of new development.  Plans such as these are based on long time horizons, 20 years or so. 

 Even so, the last Downtown Plan’s 715,000 SF were completely built-out in just over 10 years, by 2006.  This Plan’s sound yet substantial approach for incremental and appropriately sized development clearly succeeded. 

 Huntington Beach Neighbors supports further smart and sustainable development in the Downtown.  We are opposed, however, to the massive scale and density of the new Downtown Plan. 

 When combined with Pacific City, the new Downtown Plan will overwhelm our residential areas.  And Huntington Beach Neighbors is committed to maintaining and improving a strong residential quality of life for the Downtown’s surrounding established neighborhoods.

 Has the old “village concept” put a halt to development in the Downtown over the last 50 years?  You be the judge.

The Huntington Beach Independent, in its Jan 26 2011’s article titled “City Response to downtown plan lawsuit”, made a mistake in one of its quotes.

The correct information is that the only other CEQA lawsuit brought by HB residents against the City of HB was LOST by the city of HB.  This case involved the Sr. Center EIR.  Only minor points were ruled in favor of the city.

HB Neighbors has the same attorney representing our group, and the violations of the State of California Environmental Quality Act are very similar to the case recently lost by the City.  We feel we have a very good chance of winning our lawsuit and forcing the City to protect the quality of life in our downtown neighborhood.

Did the City Attorney give sound legal advice to the City Council when she told them that there were no legal grounds to challenge the Environmental Impact Reports in both of these cases?  You be the judge.

 How many alcohol licenses are too many alcohol licenses in our neighborhood?

“Downtown, which covers 1.5% of the city, makes up 11% of the calls the Huntington Beach Police Department responds to”, Small said. “The department also made 900 arrests downtown last year, and more than 600 of them were alcohol and drug related, he said. The small area has 10% of the city’s alcohol licenses in its 2.4 square miles.”

Police Chief Ken Small said at the town hall meeting as reported by the HB Independent March 10th 2010.

That’s 38 alcohol licenses in 2.4 square miles. That’s approximately 2 arrests per day in 2.4 square miles.  OUR POLICE CHIEF IS POINTING OUT THE CORRELATION BETWEEN CRIME AND ALCOHOL.  What are we going to do to help solve the problem?  Are we going to allow more CUPs to be approved and add more bars to this small area?  If our collective vision for downtown Huntington Beach includes a strong neighborhood culture and a safe place to live…….do we allow another bar to open up?  Do we want a Bourbon Street in HB?

“This plan, while it gives lip service to pedestrian and bicycle access, looks to create an uber-commercial neighborhood composed of big block five story buildings that will bring more traffic downtown, not less. We need a plan that minimizes car travel, enhances the parking we do have in creative ways and makes our downtown more liveable, not less. We need a plan that has adequate resources allocated for future police and fire needs, which this plan does not.”  Joe Shaw

A message and quote from Dave Sullivan – two time city council member and two time mayor of Huntington Beach.

“I fully endorse HB Neighbors challenge to the city’s woefully inadequate Environmental Impact Report (E.I.R.). The report does not come close to properly analyzing the many adverse effects of the proposed massive density increases in our Downtown area.

I cannot believe that a majority of our Planning Commission and City Council have drunk the ‘New Urbanism’ Kool Aid.”

Dave Sullivan

City Council 1992-2000
Mayor 1996
City Council 2002-2006
Mayor  2006